Minister Bob Neill warns Tower Hamlets council over East End Life

As predicted, the net is being closed on Tower Hamlets Council’s East End Life. I hinted that ministers were considering further action against it and other similar council papers and now we have it on record.

Here’s a press release just issued by the Bethnal Green and Bow Conservatives:

On 13th October 2011, the Bethnal Green and Bow Conservative Association were joined by Bob Neill MP, Minister for Local Government, to talk about a range of issues affecting the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and the wider East End area.

The Minister expressed his disappointment at the local Mayor’s decision to continue publishing its weekly municipal newspaper, East End Life, in spite of the Government’s strict new guidelines.

Speaking after the event, Bob Neill said:

“It was a pleasure to spend time with Conservative colleagues in Tower Hamlets who are so passionate about East London and they have some fantastic ideas about how the area could be improved for current and future generations.

“It is deeply frustrating that the Mayor of Tower Hamlets continues to plough £1.5 million a year of local taxpayers’ money into his weekly vanity paper, East End Life, despite representing one of the most deprived areas of the Capital. Councils should be there to deliver key services for residents – not divert public money into publications which undermine independent local papers and do little but self-congratulate the ruling establishment.

“Ministers are very aware of the specific situation in Tower Hamlets and if for whatever reason the approach we have taken on revising the code is not delivering on the Coalition’s pledge to stop unfair competition by local authority newspapers, we will be considering what further steps are necessary.”

Cllr David Snowdon, Conservative spokesman on Resources in Tower Hamlets welcomed the Minister’s comments on East End Life. Cllr Snowdon said:

“Tower Hamlets are defying the will of Parliament in continuing to produce a propaganda weekly paper. The money spent on this could and should be diverted to front line services.”

John Moss, Conservative Candidate for the City & East Greater London Assembly seat, said:

“East End Life has nothing to do with local news. It is simply used by Lutfur Rahman to promote the interests of Lutfur Rahman. It is produced by Council staff from a suite of offices at the Town Hall, the costs of which have never been properly accounted for. The money wasted on it should be spent on local services instead.”

-Ends –

Notes for the editor

Tower Hamlets Conservatives held a dinner on Thursday 13th October at the Market Coffee House, Spitalfields at which Bob Neill MP, Minister for Local Government was the speaker.

It updates the previous Publicity Code introducing new provisions on the frequency, content and appearance of local authority newspapers, in particular that they should not be issued more frequently than quarterly.

I have no idea why on earth you would believe a free paper like EEL increases Lutfurs support in the borough.

Many of his supporters do not bother, or cannot read the paper.

I will tell you what increases his support, he promises people jobs, help, financial aid in return for his support.

Another thing that increases his support in the borough, especially with the young Bangladeshis hacks like Ted/Gilligan et al, they feel as their religion is wing persecuted, and Lutfurs people uses that to their advantage to stoke up votes for him and good on them I say.

If hacks are stupid enough to bring religion into character assassinating one man, then I hope he stays in power, which I have often said, unless he does something really stupid, the local voters will keep him in, as long as the anti-Muslim brigade are out spouting, he will be sitting pretty.

So stop blaming a silly paper for him being in power, the way you making it out, it’s like he’s Lutfur bloody Murdoch!!!

There’s an awful lot of people who comment on the Mayor’s actions because of what he does – ie not because of his religious or cultural background.

The issues are to do with the way the Council is being run and the decisions being made about the use of public money. The same comments could and would be passed about any other person acting in the same way.

I’d suggest that people who characterise ALL critics as “the anti-Muslim brigade” are being naive in the extreme.

The reality is that if you seek high office then you will attract criticism unless your motives and actions are impeccable at all times. Set very high standards and behave in ways which cannot attract criticism and none will follow.

I don’t think I have seen a single comment, from Ted/Gilligan or anyone else, that even hints at the religious beliefs of Rahman. Is he Muslim? That’s news to me. If the young bangladeshis have such a vast religious chip on their shoulder I find myself wondering why, and suggest that trying to blame a couple of small-time scribblers is pointing the finger in entirely the wrong direction. I detect shades of the Ali G sketch; “Is it ‘cos I is black?”

Sheraz, if EEL is not a tool used to bolster support for Rahman then why is it so sycophantically Rahman-centric? Does the odious Rahman have such a vast ego that it needs the weekly feeding, paid for from the local council tax payer’s pockets?

I struggle to see how you can provide an analysis of the current situation that doesn’t reveal your beloved Rahman to be either corrupt and buying support (as you admit in your post), or exceptionally vain.

As you have miraculously worked out, he is not my Rahman as I did not vote for him in the mayoral vote, nor did I anyone in fact.

I never said they singled him out to be a Muslim, which if you read properly, I’m stating the hacks both use his religious beliefs as a reason for them to state that he sides and helps the likes of IFE, which is then linked to East London Mosque, only by the way of them having an office in their business wing, who then go on to attack the Mosque, mainly Gilligan, and say that extremists use that Mosque so must the worshippers be extremists, which people will take as an attack on their Mosque, my Mosque actually which as I have stated before, turns out to always be collateral damage for their hatred towards a man, they just do not like.

So that hatred in turn, gets used for votes

Listen, if you do not know the in’s and out’s of the borough, if you do not know about the poisonous local politics, if you do not know about the real agenda here, then I suggest you please save us from your one-eyed comments.

The fact that you never found any hint of anti-Muslim sentiment, especially from Gilligan and his rants, I can never take you or your points seriously enough to ever reply as it shows you are naïve, or you can be described as the word that should followed by the word ‘but’ in brackets above, and the fact that you think a paper like EEL garners huge support for him….. arrrgh, you know what, I apologise for ever replying to your comment, as I then had to reply back to your even dimmer (clue to the word to describe you above) comment.

“…I’m stating the hacks both use his religious beliefs as a reason for them to state that he sides and helps the likes of IFE, which is then linked to East London Mosque, only by the way of them having an office in their business wing [my italics]….”

Without being rude my friend, your post had me wondering whether I was falling for some clever trolling. As it is you have history here (more than I have, I’ll add), and hence I can only assume you are actually serious.

And, if this really is your level of argument, I think I’ll withdraw politely.

WITH being rude, I’m glad you withdraw politely, as please learn and research how the people of TH think and live, spend time with them for years, get underneath their skin, then maybe then, you will realise that not many people vote off the back of a local free rag.

I kindly accept your withdrawal and hope I never come across any further nonsensical statements ever again!

East End Pravda really needs to go. Supporters will try and bog you down with arguments about political leanings and a siege mentality around the mayor but really it’s money that could be better spent elsewhere and it doesn’t provide a service that an independent newspaper, or indeed the council website, could offer.

I’m stating the hacks both use his religious beliefs as a reason for them to state that he sides and helps the likes of IFE, which is then linked to East London Mosque, only by the way of them having an office in their business wing.

Almost fell to the floor with laughter, biggest joke ive heard on this Blog all year.

Maybe next you’ll say that the Mayor doesnt cover himself with Glory with our council paid East end Life. I count every week about 7 articles of the mayor.

The Mayor I think will replace the East end life, when it finally comes to an end, with the ” Mayors Life” newspaper, most likely it will be funded by us again.

Biggest joke on this blog is the fact that many of you including Ted here blog to their hearts content and the man you all hate to love is still in power.

I don’t like the guy but when he came through twice over all the stuff that’s written about him, I was LMFAO!!!!

I’m glad someone takes the times to check how many articles have him in it, (thats been a bigger joke and the saddest thing I read on here also LOL)it’s good your making the most of your tax if you pay any by reading the tax funded paper. LOL

He can have a hundred articles written about him, my point – if you bother reading this non-tax funded blog was that many of his supporters voted for him not because of the articles, that was the original argument you cretin, lol.

He can start off his own vanity paper in future if he wishes as you say, still the many, Bengali voters won’t read it, just will blindly vote for him, blame them, not him. LOL!

(Ted would know that I hate using LOL’s, but that over comment from you probably was the funniest comment I read on here all year as you put, so had to drop in the LOL’s. Why don’t you do what you do best, count how many times LOL was used above which will give you, Grassroots – Fruitshoot more like – an indication of how funny you were)